Dissent and Sedition

[HPL]

On another message board, I got into an arguement with a military person who claims that military people who say bad things about Bush and the Iraq war can be convicted of Sedition.

I responded that the Hatch act allows military people to voice their politcal opinions as long as they don’t use mix with with their position(don’t claim to represent the military with your opinion, don’t wear a uniform at a political rally, don’t where a politcal slogan on your uniform).

I’m not sure about the sedtion part, but if it were that easy to convict, I would think a lot of people would be court martialed for sedition and we would have heard about it. Also, I would think sedition would actually invovle helping the enemy, or disobeying orders, or something like that.

And while not directly invovled, I’d like to be able to back up the position that one can believe Bush is an idiot and still be a patriot, preferably with qoutes from from people that an intelligent military person or conservative would respect.

[Captain_Amazing]

He probably wouldn’t be charged with sedition. An officer whose criticism of the president was intemperate might be charged with Article 88 of the UCMJ, “Contempt toward Officials”, which states:

Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

A DOD directive extends this prohibition to non-commissioned officers and enlisted men

[Exapno_Mapcase]

The text of the 1918 Sedition Act:

http://www.dangerouscitizen.com/Articles/525.aspx

SEDITION ACT OF 1918

1918 AMENDMENTS TO §3 OF THE ESPIONAGE ACT OF 1917
Act of May 16, 1918, ch. 75, 40 Stat. 553-54
(repealed by Act of Mar. 3, 1921, ch. 136, 41 Stat. 1359)

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section three of title one of the Act entitled “An Act to punish acts of interference with the foreign relations, the neutrality, and the foreign commerce of the United States, to punish espionage, and better to enforce the criminal laws of the United States, and for other purposes,” approved June fifteenth, nineteen hundred and seventeen, be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:

“Sec. 3. Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully make or convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States, or to promote the success of its enemies, or shall willfully make or convey false reports or false statements, or say or do anything except by way of bona fide and not disloyal advice to an investor or investors, with intent to obstruct the sale by the United States of bonds or other securities of the United States or the making of loans by or to the United States, and whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully cause or attempt to cause, or incite or attempt to incite, insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States, or shall willfully obstruct or attempt to obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States, and whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States, or the Constitution of the United States, or the military or naval forces of the United States, or the flag of the United States, or the uniform of the Army or Navy of the United States, or any language intended to bring the form of government of the United States, or the Constitution of the United States, or the military or naval forces of the United States, or the flag of the United States, or the uniform of the Army or Navy of the United States into contempt, scorn, contumely, or disrepute, or shall willfully utter, print, write, or publish any language intended to incite, provoke, or encourage resistance to the United States, or to promote the cause of its enemies, or shall willfully display the flag of any foreign enemy, or shall willfully by utterance, writing, printing, publication, or language spoken, urge, incite, or advocate any curtailment of production in this country of any thing or things, product or products, necessary or essential to the prosecution of the war in which the United States may be engaged, with intent by such curtailment to cripple or hinder the United States in the prosecution of the war, and whoever shall willfully advocate, teach, defend, or suggest the doing of any of the acts or things in this section enumerated, and whoever shall by word or act support or favor the cause of any country with which the United States is at war or by word or act oppose the cause of the United States therein, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both: Provided, That any employee or official of the United States Government who commits any disloyal act or utters any unpatriotic or disloyal language, or who, in an abusive and violent manner criticizes the Army or Navy or the flag of the United States shall be at once dismissed from the service. Any such employee shall be dismissed by the head of the department in which the employee may be engaged, and any such official shall be dismissed by the authority having power to appoint a successor to the dismissed official.”

US Code:

govinfo

TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I - CRIMES
CHAPTER 115 - TREASON, SEDITION,
AND SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES
Sec. 2384. Seditious conspiracy

If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place 

subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow,
put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or
to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof,
or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the
United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of
the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be
fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or
both.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 808; July 24, 1956, ch. 678, Sec. 1,
70 Stat. 623; Pub. L. 103-322, title XXXIII, Sec. 330016(1)(N), Sept.
13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2148.)
Historical and Revision Notes

Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Sec. 6 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, 

Sec. 6, 35 Stat. 1089).
Amendments

1994--Pub. L. 103-322 substituted ``fined under this title'' for 

fined not more than $20,000''. 1956--Act July 24, 1956, substituted $20,000’’ for $5,000'', and twenty years’’ for ``six years’’.
Effective Date of 1956 Amendment

Section 3 of act July 24, 1956, provided that: ``The foregoing 

amendments [amending this section and section 2385 of this title] shall
apply only with respect to offenses committed on and after the date of
the enactment of this Act [July 24, 1956].’’

              Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 14 of this title; title 5 

section 8312; title 8 section 1481; title 38 section 6105; title 50 App.

Sec. 2387. Activities affecting armed forces generally

(a) Whoever, with intent to interfere with, impair, or influence the 

loyalty, morale, or discipline of the military or naval forces of the
United States:
(1) advises, counsels, urges, or in any manner causes or
attempts to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of
duty by any member of the military or naval forces of the United
States; or
(2) distributes or attempts to distribute any written or printed
matter which advises, counsels, or urges insubordination,
disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty by any member of the military
or naval forces of the United States–

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten 

years, or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by the United
States or any department or agency thereof, for the five years next
following his conviction.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the term ``military or naval
forces of the United States’’ includes the Army of the United States,
the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Naval Reserve, Marine
Corps Reserve, and Coast Guard Reserve of the United States; and, when
any merchant vessel is commissioned in the Navy or is in the service of
the Army or the Navy, includes the master, officers, and crew of such
vessel.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 811; May 24, 1949, ch. 139, Sec. 46,
63 Stat. 96; Pub. L. 103-322, title XXXIII, Sec. 330016(1)(L), Sept. 13,
1994, 108 Stat. 2147.)
Historical and Revision Notes

                        1948 Act

Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Secs. 9, 11, 13 (June 28, 1940, 

ch. 439, title I, Secs. 1, 3, 5, 54 Stat. 670, 671).
Section consolidates sections 9, 11, and 13 of title 18, U.S.C.,
1940 ed., with only such changes of phraseology as were necessary to
effect consolidation.
The revised section extends the provisions so as to include the
Coast Guard Reserve in its coverage.
Words ``upon conviction thereof’’ were omitted as unnecessary, as
punishment cannot be imposed until conviction is secured.
Reference to conspiracy to commit any of the prohibited acts was
omitted as covered by the general law incorporated in section 371 of
this title. (See reviser’s note under that section.)
Minor changes were made in arrangement and phraseology.

                        1949 Act

This section [section 46] inserts the words, ``Air Force,'' in 

subsection (b) of section 2387 of title 18, U.S.C., in view of the
establishment in 1947 of this separate branch of the armed services.
Amendments

1994--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103-322 substituted ``fined under this 

title’’ for ``fined not more than $10,000’’ in last par.
1949–Subsec. (b). Act May 24, 1949, made section applicable to the
Air Force.

                      Transfer of Functions

Coast Guard transferred to Department of Transportation and 

functions, powers, and duties, relating to Coast Guard, of Secretary of
the Treasury and of other offices and officers of Department of the
Treasury transferred to Secretary of Transportation by Pub. L. 89-670,
Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 931, which created Department of Transportation.
See section 108 of Title 49, Transportation.
Functions of all officers of Department of the Treasury and
functions of all agencies and employees of such Department transferred,
with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Treasury, with power vested
in him to authorize their performance or performance of any of his
functions, by any of such officers, agencies, and employees, by Reorg.
Plan No. 26, of 1950, Secs. 1, 2, eff. July 31, 1950, 15 F.R. 4935, 64
Stat. 1280, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization
and Employees. Such plan excepted from transfer functions of Coast Guard
and Commandant thereof when Coast Guard is operating as a part of the
Navy under section 1 and 3 of Title 14, Coast Guard.

              Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 14 of this title; title 5 

section 8312; title 38 section 6105; title 50 App. section 34.
Sec. 2388. Activities affecting armed forces during war

(a) Whoever, when the United States is at war, willfully makes or conveys false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies; or

Whoever, when the United States is at war, willfully causes or attempts to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States, or willfully obstructs the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States, to the injury of the service or the United States, or attempts to do so–

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

(b) If two or more persons conspire to violate subsection (a) of this section and one or more such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be punished as provided in said subsection (a).

(c) Whoever harbors or conceals any person who he knows, or has reasonable grounds to believe or suspect, has committed, or is about to commit, an offense under this section, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

(d) This section shall apply within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, and on the high seas, as well as within the United States.